John Kittredge was well known as a generous and supportive member of the numismatic community, both in Worcester, Massachusetts and in New England. Much of his collection concentrates on Crowns and Talers from the 15th century onward. He also has a collection of U.S. coins, New England Numismatic Association (NENA) medals, tokens and other items. All told he had over 7,200 coins and other items that are now in the collection.

Upon his death, John's collection went to the Kittredge Numismatic Foundation. The mission of the Foundation is to preserve John's collection, to promote numismatics in the New England region, and to generally provide an educational and research source for the greatest community possible.

Because of the scope and nature of John's collection, and the endowment of the Foundation, there is an exciting prospect to achieve John's goals, although one that does not lend itself to the traditional museum setting. It was decided, therefore, to create a "virtual museum" for the coins and medals.